When Marly Hanson ran away from home as a teen to get married, she thought she’d never return. But when her young daughter finishes treatment for brain cancer and asks to meet her grandmother, Marly can’t turn her down, even if it means confronting the past she hoped to forget. She’s determined to keep her distance with her mother, but as she sees her mom through the eyes of others, Marly finds she wants to know more. She also finds herself becoming attached to the very things she rejected when she was younger.

A Song For My Mother by Kat Martin is a story of love in many forms: between mothers and daughters, between spouses, and between friends. It explores how to bridge a gap created with an emotional break and over the distance of years. Through the story, author Martin encourages readers to question their assumptions about painful actions others take, and strive for understanding as well as consider the possibility of forgiveness. There’s also a bit of romance added to the mix.

Even though the topics, like spousal abuse and cancer are tough ones, A Song For My Mother will also charm you with its descriptions of small town life in Dreyerville, and the thoughtful people who live there. It’s an idyllic place that will have you wishing you had grown up in a small town or wondering why you ever moved away if you did.

Publisher Vanguard Press provided me with a copy of this book for review.